(Radio Iowa – Des Moines) Senate Republicans and the state’s attorney general are seeking a new trial after a jury awarded a former Senate Republican Caucus Staff employee two-point-two-million dollars for being subjected to harassment and retaliation. The motion for a new trial refers to the two-point-two MILLION dollars as “excessive damages” that appear “to have been influenced by passion or prejudice.”

The defendants in the case are arguing they’re entitled to a new trial due to statements Kirsten Anderson’s attorney made in court about how the jury could “send a message” with a verdict in Anderson’s favor. The motion also argues there was not sufficient evidence to support the damage amount awarded by the jury. Mike Carroll, one of Anderson’s attorneys, says he is “not shocked” by the motion for a new trial.

But Carroll says the arguments made in the motion are “inconsistent with the jury’s verdict” and with statements the governor and others have made about having “zero tolerance” of sexual harassment in the workplace.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The latest farm real estate values are out and the U.S. Department of Agriculture says the average acre of farmland in Iowa rose 1.9 percent from a year ago to $8,000 an acre, returning to the same value posted in 2015.

Iowa is the only state in the five-state corn belt region which also includes Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Ohio to see an increase in value. The USDA’s farm real estate value includes all land and buildings on farms. The report was released Thursday.

Midwest farmland values fell or leveled off in many states from 2015 to 2016 but Minnesota, Wisconsin and North Dakota also saw increases this year. Nebraska saw a 1.7 percent decrease to $2,900 an acre. The national average is up 2.3 percent to $3,080 an acre.

Birdwatchers in the Lower Loess Hills region may soon see a greater diversity of species. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources proposes a bird conservation area of nearly 90-thousand-acres. Such areas are created through a targeted effort on public and private lands to plant bird-friendly habitats. Bruce Ehresman is a wildlife diversity bird biologist for the D-N-R.

“If you think about what Iowa looked like historical with about 27- or 28-million acres of prairie, it was a huge landscape of habitat and we’ve carved that up into little tiny pieces,” Ehresman says. “We’re trying to put back some of the pieces into larger pieces because they will benefit more species.” Ehresman says this proposed bird conservation area in western Iowa is ecologically diverse.

“We’ve documented 282 species that have occurred at one time or another within this proposed area and of those, 128 are nesting species,” Ehresman says. “It actually may not sound like a very high number, but it really is, and so a high proportion of those species that nest throughout the state actually nest in this one area.” If approved, this conservation area would be Iowa’s 24th. Ehresman says it will contain the most bird species of all the conversation areas in the state.

(Radio Iowa w/report by Sarah Boden, Iowa Public Radio)

The Audubon County Sheriff’s Office put out a notice on their social media page today (Thursday), that indicated there are scam calls going out that will show on your caller I.D., that you are receiving a call from the “Sheriff’s Department.” The number that is displayed is associated with the Sheriff’s Department fax number. Authorities warn you to be aware of these scams and do not provide any personal information.

If the Sheriff’s Department had been attempting to contact you, their number, which is blocked, would show “Private Caller,” or “Unknown”.    

Sheriff’s officials in Mills County report a Nebraska man was arrested just before 2-a.m. today (Thursday), on a warrant out of Pottawattamie County. 24-year old Joshua John Mahloch, of Bellevue, NE., was wanted for Probation Violation. He was also charged with Providing False Identification and Failure to have a valid driver’s license. Mahloch was being held in the Mills County Jail on bond amounting to $2,300.

Mandy Harrigan

Gavin Miller

Two people, a man and a woman, were arrested following a residential burglary that occurred this (Thursday) morning, in Council Bluffs. Authorities say 25-year old Gavin Miller and 25-year old Mandy Harrigan, both of Council Bluffs, face charges in connection with the incident that happened at around 8-a.m. in the 1000 Block of 6th Avenue.

The victim, 65-year old Geoffrey Jennings, of Council Bluffs, told officers that a male and female suspect entered his residence through an unlocked door. Once in the residence the male suspect struck Jennings in the head with a blunt object knocking him to the ground. As they male continued to assault Jennings, the female demanded money and personal belongings from Jennings. Following the attack both suspect fled the residence.

Jennings was able to provide officers with physical and clothing descriptions of both suspects. Officers located two suspects matching the description a short distance from the crime scene. They were identified as Gavin Miller and Mandy Harrigan who were in possession of items stolen from Jennings.

Miller and Harrigan are currently in police custody at the Pottawattamie County Jail charged with Robbery 1st Degree, Burglary 1st Degree, Going Armed with Intent and Willful Injury. Geoffrey Jennings was treated and released at a local Hospital for lacerations to his head.

There’s a new policy in force at the Woodbury County Courthouse in Sioux City that limits who may carry weapons into the building. A new state law allows people with permits to carry concealed weapons in public buildings, but the chief justice of Iowa’s Supreme Court has declared that court-controlled areas in public buildings would remain “weapons-free” zones. In June, the Woodbury County Board of Supervisors voted to allow guns in the courthouse. Now, THIS WEEK, the chief judge in Iowa’s third judicial district banned the public from bringing weapons into the courthouse in Sioux City as well as the adjacent law enforcement center and the second floor of a nearby building where juvenile court hearings are held.

Woodbury County Board of Supervisors chairman Matthew Ung objects. “No one disputes the court’s right and responsibility to secure and set policy for their courtroom,” Ung says. “But when my courtroom becomes my eight-story courthouse and the law enforcement center and the second floor of Trosper Hoyt, you have judicial overreach.”

Law enforcement officers and members of the military who are on duty will be allowed to carry weapons in the complex, but off duty officials will have to surrender their weapons at the entrance. Ung objects to that as well. “I don’t think law enforcement is ever off duty and, indeed, there are many cases where they have prevented crimes and saved lives,” Ung says, “so I think to disarm people like that sends an extremely wrong message to our community.”

Ung says the issue is NOT on the Woodbury County Board of Supervisors agenda for next Tuesday, but Ung says he wouldn’t be surprised if someone files a lawsuit challenging this new policy.

(Radio Iowa)

A Page County man turned himself-in to the Page County Sheriff’s Office this (Thursday) morning. Authorities say 40-year old Jeffrey Wade Bartles, of rural College Springs,  arrived at the Sheriff’s Office at around 10:30-a.m. to serve time for a previous sentence.  An active warrant had been issued for Bartles from Page County District Court for Violation of Probation (an aggravated Misdemeanor), with bond set at $2000 cash only.  Bartles was booked into jail for his sentence and will be held until the bond has been satisfied.

MCINTIRE, Iowa (AP) – Apparently it was a not-so-special election in the tiny town of McIntire, Iowa, where none of its 70 registered voters showed up to cast ballots. Tuesday’s ballot asked two questions: Should the term of the mayor be raised to four years from two, and should the terms of council members be raised to four years, staggered, from two years.

A Mitchell County deputy auditor, Barbara Baldwin, told the Mason City Globe Gazette that the poll workers didn’t even vote. None of them live in McIntire. McIntire, population 110, sits near the state line with Minnesota, 137 miles north-northeast of Des Moines. Baldwin says she’s seen low turnouts over her 28 years with the county auditor, but, “This is definitely a first.”

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has ordered a former Atlantic-based company to pay a $7,000 penalty for failure to clean-up soil contaminated with trade waste that includes waste oil, anti-freeze, fuel, and miscellaneous solid waste. The DNR also ordered Recycling Services, LLC (101 State St.) to conduct a site assessment and remediation, as necessary, to properly dispose of all remaining solid waste and contaminated soil. The order was with regard to the company’s failure to comply with their National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit.

In June, 2015, the DNR received four complaints alleging that storm water run-off was leaving the property. A subsequent site visit and investigation confirmed the discharge issues. As of late last month, the DNR said the company had not complied with the Order. The company has not been in operation since late 2015 or early 2016.

More details about the Order can be found here: https://programs.iowadnr.gov/legal//documents/6363719605079993242017SW11.pdf